Welcome to Live Lotus

Almost four years ago, I embarked on a journey called Lotus Premium Denim with a few of my girlfriends. We held our day jobs, raised our families, and ran our start-up with any free time we had left. We hosted trunk shows and pop-up shops, provided personal denim fittings, attended trade shows, held fundraisers for partnering charities, gifted celebrities with our jeans, and ran a successful Kickstarter campaign with help from hundreds of supporters all around the world. We made the most out of our dream, for as long as we could. At the start of 2015, we decided we wanted to do more for our community.

I couldn't understand this unsettling feeling I developed in the Summer of 2014. Lotus Premium Denim was everything I wanted in a fashion start-up, but in my heart, I kept wanting to explore the inner realms of a person. Beyond fitting women in jeans, I wanted Lotus to make a difference and help others conquer from within, living this journey called "life" to the fullest. It wasn't just about wearing something inspiring, I wanted people to experience Lotus in their day-to-day living. In my own life and through my own journey, the only way I've experienced this profound shift in living was through yoga and meditation.

Late last year I set out to tell Marie, my co-founder, a new dream I had. Not knowing how it would all tie together, I told her my dream was to become a yoga instructor one day. I winced when I said this because I was afraid of what she might say. I didn't want her to think I was abandoning the denim and fashion route.

Marie looked at me and said, "Sis, I think you should teach yoga, too." She then told me about her dream of building schools for children in developing countries. Her heart poured out when she described the kind of education and resources she wanted to provide in the schools. I've heard her talk about this several times before, but a realization didn't hit me until this particular moment -- why must we wait so long to start giving back? Why couldn't we pivot and expand Lotus to incorporate communal experiences now?

Dizzy with excitement, I didn't know how to blend this into one cohesive vision yet. But after receiving my business partners' support and aligned vision, I knew we would figure it out some way, somehow!

SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND

Months of brainstorming and planning led us to our first yoga event earlier this year in April, benefitting HERS Breast Cancer Foundation. The event was held at a huge dance studio and it reached full capacity! We knew we were onto something amazing when a breast cancer survivor and guest reached out and said this was exactly what she needed. Right away, the team and I started to look for locations we could rent to offer more yoga classes. Then it hit me... no other place could offer what I envisioned in my mind for Lotus. We've been wanting to open our first flagship store for a while now. Why not incorporate a yoga studio in our space as well?! As soon as this seed of thought was planted in our minds, we went straight to designing our dream flagship on paper and began scouting for locations. More than 3 months of searching and getting turned down led us to one tiny jewel located on the outskirts of downtown San Jose, near a bustling and thriving Japantown community. Malay, our other business partner, and I cried the first time we stepped foot in this building. Offered by my real estate broker whom I've not been in contact with for years, the stars aligned for us once more.

For the past four months, we've committed our time, sweat, and savings into building the House of Lotus; a sanctuary, a retail boutique, a yoga studio, a Home. Our tiny and nimble team paid many visits to Home Depot, IKEA, and Amazon.com to help bring this vision to life. Paulyn, our Product Developer (she wears many other hats too), has just completed designing our first Live Lotus collection of yoga active wear. It will be available for pre-order in August.

The company name Live Lotus was coined by Marie, and it means to live inspired, live beautifully, live virtuously. In other words, to live life fully. Live Lotus celebrates the individuals who not only overcomes everyday battles, but looks to conquer themselves from within.

We invite you to our studio and boutique Grand Opening on August 2nd in San Jose, California, from 3PM - 6PM. Please feel free to share the Grand Opening news with your friends and family too! Simply click and save the image above to share it on your social media networks. If you plan on attending, please RSVP by clicking the button below. In addition to yoga classes, we will also be enjoying music from DJ Mik3, freshly squeezed green juices from Jamba Juice, complimentary chair massages from TrioSpa, and delicious treats to satisfy your palate! :)

There will be several free yoga sessions offered throughout Grand Opening day. To reserve your spot, book a class via the button below and select the class time you'd like to attend. (We are offering Live Lotus yoga classes daily starting August 3rd, 2015.)

Please check out the re-launch of our website www.live-lotus.com. Yoga classes may be booked online as well as walk-ins. Thank you, thank you, thank you... for being part of this movement and for your unwavering support. Remember that everything you seek is already within you. We look forward to connecting with you again real soon!